CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Men's basketball head coach Lute Olson laughs during the Lute Olson All Star Classic on Aug. 24, 2003. Olson was inducted into the basketball hall of fame last summer.

A - A through M. None of the 14 members of this year's volleyball team - from Jennifer Abernathy to Kelli Mulvany - has a last name that begins with any letter of the last half of the alphabet. Apparently, head coach Dave Rubio doesn't get the N through Z recruit list in the mail.

B - Bear Down, Arizona,Bear Down, red and Blue. Bear Down, Arizona, Hit ëem hard, let ëem know who's who; Bear Down, Arizona, Bear Down, Red and Blue. Go, go, Wildcats, go; Arizona, Bear Down

C - Channing Frye. The All-America candidate will be entering his third season with the basketball team this month. The Wildcats will need the tall, lanky center to improve on his already gaudy rebounding numbers to make it back to the Elite Eight - and beyond - in March.

D - Dave Sitton - Mr. Arizona himself - is not just one of the TV voices of Wildcat football and basketball and a former Arizona baseball player, but he also heads up the UA rugby team, one of the top club programs in the nation. Sitton played rugby in his days at the UA as well.

E - Erica Blasberg is not only the best athlete nobody in Tucson knows of, but possibly the best college athlete nobody in the entire country knows of. Blasberg won her second straight individual title earlier this week in Seattle. Just a sophomore, Blasberg has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for almost her entire collegiate career, and deservedly so. Lorena Ochoa revisited? Oh yeah.

F - Fired, as in former head coach John Mackovic. Mackovic spent two-and-a-half failed seasons as UA's football coach, going 10-18 in that span with a 3-14 Pacific 10 record. Mackovic never even won a home Pac-10 game in his tenure here. Now that he's gone, let's Bear Down and beat the Bruins!

G - GOP. Lute Olson's new wife, Christine Torretti, is a big fundraiser for the Republican Party. No word yet on whether or not she‰ll be in Arnold's cabinet. The Wildcat thinks this marriage is a big publicity stunt for the silver-haired one; he's just using it to prime for his next career as a politician. Not too many of the 14,560 that follow his Cats in McKale Center would go against the notion that "Lute for President" has a nice ring to it.

H - Hankwitz, Mike - as in replacement of Mackovic, John (see "Fired," above). The 33-year college coaching veteran finally got a shot to lead a team of his own, even if it is Mackovic's sup-par hand-me-down. Nevertheless, Hankwitz's defense played possessed once again for the better part of last week's loss to Washington State, while his offensive coaching staff got creative in its substitutions as well, leading to the Wildcats‰ only score of the game. More of the same should mean more checks in the win column.

I - Ibok. Freshman volleyball player Enonbong Ibok's brother, Ibok Ibok plays for the UTEP football team, which the UA played in the its first game. He's so good they named him twice. Too bad UTEP lost 42-7 in the Wildcats‰ only win so far this season.

J - Josh Pastner: assistant basketball coach, barbecue enthusiast. This fan-favorite assistant to Lute Olson- and former Wildcat player - can be seen around town in one of three places around Tucson: McKale Center for early morning practices, Penguin's Frozen Yogurt Place or Smokin‰, the new barbecue restaurant on Speedway that Pastner does television spots for.

K - Kim Glass. Led the volleyball team in kills and hitting percentage as a freshman last year, and is on pace to do the same this season. Without her, a UA team that's currently winless in the Pac-10 could be winless on the season.

L - Lute - no explanation necessary. This one could also be reserved for long-time Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski, who's about to embark on his 25th season with the Icecats program. Nothing means Friday night in Tucson like seeing Los Gatinos rip up on Arizona State in the "Madhouse on Main Street." 7,500 screaming - and potentially wasted - fans at the Tucson Convention Center would agree that while Lute's bunch is the toast of Tucson, while Leo's gang

M - Midnight Madness at the UA is ready to change its moniker to "4 p.m. Madness," as Wildcat staff writer Shane Bacon stated in his commentary earlier this week. Well said, Shane, as this year Olson and Co. won't be holding the late-night slam-dunk fest and free-for-all, a fan favorite among students who don't get tickets to go to actual games.

CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Robert Cheseret (right) placed first during the Dave Murray Invitational Sept. 19, 2003.

N - national champions - a title UA basketball will seek to regain next March. And UA softball in June.

O - Offense - or a lack thereof. UA football scored 42 points in its season-opening rout against Texas El-Paso, and has scored 47 in its five games since. At least they're consistent.

P - Pullman, Wash. - where Hankwitz made his head coaching debut. The Cats kept it close for three quarters. A step in the right direction? We‰ll know more tomorrow.

Q - Quarterbacks. Nic Costa? Next. Ryan O‰Hara? Nice try. Kris Heavner? The jury's still out. Heavner, a true, 19-year-old freshman has started Arizona's last two games and has looked impressive from time to time. Cross your fingers for the teenager tomorrow against a Bruins team that ran up the score against once-undefeated Washington last weekend.

R - Robert Cheseret. The star freshman cross country runner has already placed first in a race this season, and still has three years to improve. He's from Kenya and speaks limited English - making our Athlete of the Week interview with him very interesting.

S - Seniors. The only two on UA's basketball team for the 2003-04 campaign are Fil Torres and Jason Ranne. Never heard of them? You probably won't hear their names again until Senior Day.

T - Tobias, Dan, as in the new women's soccer coach. In his first season in the desert - after picking up the Pac-10 coach of the year award last year while heading the program at Washington State - Tobias has been able to right the UA soccer ship in no time.

U - Underdogs. UA football hasn't been favored to win a game since its season opener against UTEP - the only game it has won.

V - Vying for a bowl bid. Sorry - vie again next year.

W - Candice Wilks. One of Arizona's premiere soccer players led the team in points last season. The Wildcats could use a little more of her help this season, as the team, like volleyball, has slipped to below .500.

X - X'tra points. The only thing the Wildcat football team has been perfect at this season - though it hasn't had the opportunity to attempt that many.

Y - Youth. Take your pick - football, volleyball, women's golf - the word describes all of them. Volleyball doesn't have a single senior to rely on. And football, particularly the offense, has few seniors itself. Just take a look at their field generals and overachieving offensive line.

Z - Zebras. Expect to see a plethora of poor Pac-10 officiating tomorrow at Arizona Stadium. If any Division I-A conference needs the benefit of instant replay, it's this one.